


the (un)breakable iron man

by aortaxx



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Surgery, at least a bit, i hope u can call it, not steve-friendly but based on canon events so :)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-04-23 18:38:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19156693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aortaxx/pseuds/aortaxx
Summary: set right after the events of civil war!!! tony is wheeled into the hospital to have his injuries treated and of course his team only wants the best for him, so they ask doctor strange to look after him and stephen already feels like there is more to this story than what he's told... even if he thinks tony is irritating enough for him to quit his job (although only almost)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back with more ironstrange....... who would have thought... but a rather interesting piece this time! i found out that doctor strange is set in 2016, just like the events of civil war! so i thought it would be entertaining to see stephen (trying) to put tony back together after his fight with the captain as a surgeon and it would also explain that scene in infinity war when tony told bruce they might need to contact the cap and stephen gave a "oh great" as if he knew what happened? i know it's such a small thing, but this is my take on it and i hope you enjoy hjhdgjhdg

Stephen Strange was having a very good day, all things considered. He just finished a surgery that had kept him awake throughout months and required more planning than anything else he had done in recent history, but he finished it— _successfully_ , he may add. Christine smiles weakly at him while he’s enjoying the euphoric high and additional adrenaline.

“Alright, I’ll… take a nap…”

“You look like you could use it. But great work, Doctor Palmer.”

She smiles a bit more enthusiastically this time, but nods right back at him before wobbling down the hallway and bumping into an unoccupied wheelchair once, though Stephen presumes she’ll manage (she always has). He was about to make the decision to get a coffee instead of sleeping like a responsible person as his pager informs him of a very important emergency patient that had just been wheeled into the ER. The neurosurgeon himself wasn’t even too sure if he should get himself into more work right away, but that decision was quickly made for him once he actually arrived and was told who his patient was.

“Listen Nick, I should have a nap instead of…—“

“We have Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries here with injuries most likely in connection to some sort of physical assault slash battery, most critical on the head and chest area… And his team requested for you to care for him. _Specifically_.”

Stephen could immediately tell how unwilling Nick was to disclose that part to him, but it only heightened his sense of euphoria. The Tony Stark requesting to have specifically him as his doctor was not something every surgeon could say about themselves, but for now he’ll have to make sure that this very important client is not dying on him.

“Like I said, he’s stable right now but the injuries could become critical if you miss something.”

Nick passes him the pad with all of Tony Stark’s information and walks towards the other corner of the ER to treat an old lady it seemed, so Stephen would make do with what he’s got. It was also pretty easy to figure out the examination room in which his patient was, mostly because it was the only one with a crowd of bodyguards in front of it, but a quick swipe of his badge cleared him for entry quite fast. He was not prepared for the atmosphere inside the room, though.

“He _lied_ right to my face! He lied to me and don’t you dare call me petty for this, you don’t _understand_ …—“

“Tony, _calm down_! You are injured and…—“

“I have to ask everyone besides the immediate family to exit this room right now.”

He can see that there is some sort of drama happening that he clearly missed out on, but he sees Pepper Potts wiping tears from her eyes and the Head of Security, Happy Hogan turn around and assess him for a few seconds, with Pepper being fast to comply and Happy eyeing him as if he was the devil himself. He hadn’t even reached the bed yet, for god’s sake.

“I’m Doctor Strange, I was requested to take Mr. Stark into my care. Here’s my badge, if you want to check me.”

After that, Happy is also quick to leave the room and Stephen isn’t sure about how surprised he was to find that the room had become completely empty, which meant no immediate family (at least not present slash alive). Now he was able to assess his official patient for the first time and he didn’t exactly look great or how he usually looked in the papers— a lot less glamour and a lot more blood. The other man was breathing heavily, face flushed and pupils dilated, some metal from his armor (presumably) still stuck to his body and some of it ran into the flesh. Stephen concludes it as ugly, but it would most likely not turn out to be life-threatening.

“Hello, Mr. Stark. As I mentioned, I’m the doctor you requested, Doctor Strange. Are you experiencing any…—“

“I’m going to stop you right there, just cut the talk and do your job. I don’t pay health care for fun.”

Someone was moody, which wasn’t too hard to understand, but Stephen really didn’t have time for this and he was probably overqualified anyways. Rich people just want the best, even if it would just be for a scraped knee. Tony wasn’t looking at him, but out the window instead and because he was very tired, he decided to examine the biggest injuries first, starting with the head wounds (because these could turn out to be the most deadly later on).

“I’m going to check your head first, so if you…—“

“ _Don’t_ touch me!”

The other man quickly hit his hand with precise aim, looking positively terrified and absolutely rattled, breathing heavy through his mouth because there was still blood dripping from his nose, reminding Stephen very much of a cornered, wild animal. That certainly speak for Nick’s theory about the possible assault that put him into this state.

“Mr. Stark, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a doctor and I tend to take my oath seriously.”

He saw on the pad that he had already been given a lot of sedatives while transported here and so he shouldn’t risk another dose before they had done all the necessary tests. Tony’s hands were still raised and he looked ready to punch him through the wall, which Stephen hadn’t signed up for after those ten hours of surgery earlier.

“Look, you can take my hand and guide me to all the injuries on your head if it would help you. I just need to know the location of all the superficial wounds.”

Tony doesn’t look too convinced by anything, but after just staring at him for another few seconds, he just does as Stephen asks and grabs his wrist to guide the hand around his skull and Stephen could feel how much the other’s entire body was trembling. The injuries weren’t too bad, but there was a laceration right above the engineer’s temple that could run deeper and so Stephen already checks doing a CT scan in his head as he pulls his hand back.

“Can you… remove the metal? It’s kinda becoming a thorn in my side.”

Stephen only allows himself a small chuckle because the biggest chunk of metal was literally stuck in Tony’s side and it would be agonizing to get it out, so he shakes his head as he moves back to type something onto his pad again.

“I can do that while in surgery, because it will hurt _a lot_. I don’t recommend for you to be conscious for it…—“

“I don’t care, just do it. It’s nothing compared to the pain I have experienced in the last two days, that’s for sure.”

There’s this edge of bitterness to it and Stephen wants to tell him that no way, but then he sees the other man’s face and he has a feeling his licence will suffer if he refuses, so he sighs and rubs his eyes before gathering a few instruments and moving his chair closer. The metal was pretty deep, so Stephen understood why they didn’t want to remove it during transport, but he still didn’t feel entirely comfortable doing this outside of a surgery room, but the customer’s the king or something.

“… This will hurt and I can’t give you any more pain medication. Are you aware of that?”

“Yes, just get it fucking over with.”

Stephen shrugs and he never had a lot of sympathy for rude patients, not even the least bit of gratefulness for saving their life and so he doesn’t even bat an eyelash when he begins to pull and the hero begins to scream agonizingly loud. The wound bleeds more than he thought, so he was about to call for another nurse, but Tony grabbed his wrist so quickly, he almost lost the piece of metal inside the body again.

“No, no one else… I can’t…”

The doctor raises an eyebrow at him again but complies, slowly taking his wrist back and grabbing a lot more towels to make sure the bed wouldn’t be completely full of blood once he was done. Tony also calmed down his voice and only twisted his body when Stephen cut or pulled at something again, but he didn’t say anything, before the near silence grows a bit too uncomfortable for him. Normally he would have his Pink Floyd soundtrack playing as he did this kind of thing, so that made sense.

“I have to ask you, how did you obtain these injuries?”

“Fight…— _Fuck_ , careful!”

Suddenly mouthy again, at least as Stephen dumps the first piece into the metal bowl he placed nearby and only rolled his eyes as he got to stitching, making sure it was clean enough first and then enjoying the slightly sadistic sensation of knowing Tony Stark (an ass) was feeling every single move of his needle.

“What kind of fight? I’m assuming close-distance, but were weapons besides such for blunt force used?”

“ _No!_ ”

He screams the answer once Stephen cuts through the thread and it looks good, so Stephen allows himself a satisfied smile behind his surgical mask. He also decides that this kind of conversation proved to be entertaining, so he continues as he goes for another piece stuck in Tony’s arm.

“Was it personal? I don’t know about people in your branch of work, but…—“

“God, do they pay you for talking or the pain? Because both is _agonizing_ right now!”

The neurosurgeon pulls at the next piece a little extra harsh for that comment and sometimes he likes this part of his job, at least when it concerns self-absorbed assholes like Tony Stark. He’s actually quite surprised that none of the bodyguards had come inside yet, judging by the way Tony was screaming his head off in here. He dumps another piece in the bowl before looking the engineer over one more time.

“I do have to know if it was a domestic affair or not. For legal reasons.”

Now Tony was looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a sports car and Tony has seen that look before— but _not_ on the superhero of their time, a man clad in iron. It’s sensible and he can immediately sense that, especially when Tony turns away to give his answer.

“It was work-related.”

“… Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fucking _sure_!”

Wether he yells due to the pain of the needle again or just because this is a sensitive topic would remain a mystery to Stephen, but he did have enough heart left in himself to care about the justice of this all. Victims of domestic abuse came in all shapes and forms, all genders and social stands. So he finishes up with stitching that wound too before trying to find Tony’s eyes with another serious stare, before sighing.

“I’m going to take you to do the CT now that I’ve removed all the metal. You can always think about your answer again.”

The engineer is silent and he remains that way all the way up to the scan, even when he calls over other nurses, as if the sedatives had finally kicked in. Stephen really hates his own humanitarian side sometimes and takes a sip from the coffee one of the interns just got for him ( _finally_ ), but not everyone could say they were able to take a peek at Tony Stark’s inner workings (aka brain), so the doctor just files it under his other achievements for the day.

 

[*]

 

So it turns out that Tony Stark was much more complicated emotionally _and_ physical, causing Stephen to huddle around the operation table with at least four other experts, two of them engineers because he was reminded that Tony’s very heart was made of technology and not biology (mostly). But in the end, they finish. The CEO might have gone into a cardiac arrest _once_ during the whole thing, but all his injuries are taken care of and Stephen could successfully say that he was more dead than alive once he wheeled the other man back into his room.

There were flowers now and two balloons, Pepper and Happy both asleep in the waiting area for visitors and Stephen considers waking them to tell them that their man made it through the surgery, but the bodyguards still standing by the door nod to him, so he assumes they will take care of it. He is just finishing up with noting all the details and taking notes of his patient’s current vitals as he hears Tony mumble something, despite still being heavily sedated from the procedure.

“Steve… _stop_ … 'Cap…—”

Suddenly, he starts wheezing and his eyes fly open, as does his whole upper body and Stephen almost drops the pad in his hands in surprise, but he’s by the engineer’s side in a mere second, trying to stop him from getting tangled up by all the tubes between cursing.

“Mr. Stark, calm down. We just finished operating on you, you need to rest.”

The hero was breathing heavily again and Stephen is pretty sure he was having a panic attack, but then his eyes drop closed again as he hits the pillow behind him. Stephen just raised an eyebrow, but the vitals remain constant, so he just passed out from either shock or exhaustion, but maybe that was for the best right now. Stephen couldn’t help but remember that name, though (even just because it was so similar to his own) and he could almost hear Christine call him a narcissist again in his mind.

 

[*]

 

“So… It was Steve who did this to you? As in, _the_ Captain America?”

Stephen was pretty sure he had seen many death stares in his life (mainly from his colleagues), but the stare Tony Stark was giving him now was even more than that— it was without restraint, just pure anger and hate and it fascinated and terrified him all the same. Not because he was scared of an injured man, but for Steve Rogers, apparently.

“If you dig anymore in my personal file, I _will_ take you off my case.”

“I didn’t dig at all. You repeated his name in your sleep over and over, so I added two and two together. Your collaboration is public knowledge, after all.”

The engineer doesn’t look any less pissed because of that, but Stephen thinks it’s very clear that he didn’t want to disclose any more on the subject, but that still doesn’t give him the right answer to put on the documents. It was public knowledge that Steve Rogers and Tony Stark collaborated together for work, but it was also common knowledge that everyone lived in the same headquarters, which might make this more domestic than one would assume.

“The Captain and I had a small _disagreement_. Nothing too dramatic, happens amongst friends.”

“So ‘ _nothing too dramatic_ ’ had you almost frozen to death with what could have potentially become lethal injuries on the outskirts of Siberia? Pardon my language, but that’s bullshit. Just please give me a solid answer so I can get out of your hair and save some more lives instead of… _this_.”

The other man looks out of the window again and Stephen was getting impatient now— mostly because he’s pretty sure Iron Man didn’t understand the importance of time in a hospital, but lashing out wouldn’t help anyone either, especially not at a patient. So instead, he just sets the pad with the document on it in Tony’s lap before rubbing his eyes again.

“Just check it yourself. I have places to be.”

The signing of ‘non-domestic’ was quicker than Stephen liked, but this wasn’t his prime concern. That would be a case for the legal department later on, but the engineer looked positively numb after signing it, which pressed his conscience on him again and Stephen cursed under his breath, halfway out of the door. He puts the pad on the little table besides Tony’s bed and tries to establish eye-contact one more time, taking a sip of one of the many coffees he already consumed today.

“You don’t seem to be the kind of person to care much for other’s advice, but let me give it to you either way. These injuries… they could have _killed_ you if no one found you in time. If I was you, I would re-consider your definition of the word ‘ _friend_ ’. I may not be an expert on the topic, but friends don’t kill each other on the border of Siberia, no matter the circumstances. Get well soon, Mr. Stark.”

The look that Tony gives him would probably haunt him for quite some time, but for once, there was no sarcastic backtalk and so Stephen at least felt like a bit of a better person as he slipped out of the room again to take on the next case, but he had a weird feeling that his and Tony Stark’s next meeting wouldn’t be as far away in the future as he would like it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh yeah maybe i will turn this into a multi-chapter thing of stephen getting the whole story out of tony + the confrontation that happens once stephen becomes sorcerer supreme and they all actually meet later down the path??? yeah, let me know in the comments and i hope you liked it! feel free to follow me on @aortaxx (on tumblr) if you wanna keep up with my other bullshit ha


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here i am again after over a week of radio silence...... it hasn't been the most emotional high, so this took a while and i apologize if it's not A Lot, but at least there is some progress! a big thank you to jodinia, dlpd_28, Nakamotosenpai and Karen Straits for your lovely comments on the last chapter, this one goes out to you guys!

Stephen would say that since becoming a doctor, his patience has greatly improved over time, but even now it has its limits. If Tony Stark wanted to test out life’s limits, then so be it— but if he wanted to try out _Stephen’s_ limits, then he would be met with a nasty surprise. The fact that his pager has been going off non-stop was a sign and the fact that Nick was eyeing him with what Stephen could assume is only a smile under his surgical mask only drove him further up the wall.

“Aren’t you going to take that?”

“Nick, we _literally_ have a patient lying open on the table.”

He would feel bad about using this man (and his cut-open abdomen) as an excuse to stay here a little longer to avoid the absolute plague that is Tony Stark, but he was saving his life anyways, so he was the one who should thank Stephen for being so intent on doing his work. Word has gotten around of how insufferable the multi-millionaire could be and suddenly, everyone (even the nurses) was just fine with letting him be Stephen’s concern and he hates it.

“Doctor Palmer can take over for you.”

He gives the other doctor a meaningful glare even over the rim of his surgical mask and eventually shoves his instruments back on the table for Christine to take before storming outside, half out of anger and half because his pager wouldn’t stop fucking _beeping_! He was quick to take off all his gloves and the coat, shoving it into the designated bin before beginning his journey across the entire goddamn hospital. This better be important or he was certain that he would resign, even if the pay was amazing— every man has his limits, after all.

 

[*]

 

As soon as he arrives, he can tell that this at least has potential as a threat aka a reason for him to hurry here, but he’s also pretty sure that Tony was dealing with the symptoms of a concussion. His scan had come back just fine, he was mostly here because of his arc reactor (and Stephen wasn’t even a heart surgeon, so he doesn’t know _why_ he is the one in charge here), but watching such a powerful man throw up into a small bin really does humble a guy from time to time.

“It certainly wasn’t severe enough to seriously damage any part of your brain, so I will up the dosage of your pain medication. Try to sleep as much as you can and avoid looking at any electronics as much as possible.”

He scribbles it down on the pad again and Tony watches him with glossy eyes, looking half-gone and Stephen suddenly remembers how much this job reminds him that everybody is just a human. The millionaire just stares at him and Stephen suddenly notices that one of his stitches (the one on Tony’s right arm) had opened again and he sighs. Gesturing Tony to turn towards him, he gathers some material again to fix it up one more time and this time, Tony doesn’t make a single sound as he pushes the needle into the skin over and over.

“Also try to move around as little as possible, so the thread won’t break.”

The other man still didn’t say a word and now Stephen was just becoming annoyed— sure, he didn’t come here to chat, but a patient was still supposed to talk to his doctor. Then an idea came to him and he’s sure it’s half professionalism and half curiosity that led him to it, but no one had to know, right?

“I was also thinking that you might like to consult a psychiatrist after… what happened. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very common diagnosis in cases like—“

“I don’t need a fucking psychiatrist, psychologist, _whatever_. Just do your job so I can go home.”

That reaction only strengthened Stephen’s belief that he might not be on the wrong path, so he raises an eyebrow and steels himself for any other kind of shouting, because everyone here knew how stubborn he could be— even with his patients. And if Tony was really was _that_ intent on denying it, he could always talk to his friends (or employees, he reminds himself) to let them talk him into it.

“… I saw in your file that you already denied therapy after your… _experience_ in Afghanistan, too. How did that work out for you?”

Suddenly, there was a wild look in Tony’s eye and Stephen admitted that there was a certain power that came with being a doctor and in this very moment, he felt it— he was also pretty sure that the hero would strangle him if he could move more right now, but the doctor just raises an eyebrow.

“Just because my company’s CEO and my Head of Security let you have my case doesn’t make you even the tiniest squeeze precious, bastard.”

Stephen really would like to jump out of joy because even just being able to hand this case off to someone else and _finally_ get back into neuroscience properly sounded like a dream. So the words didn’t faze him too much as he remarked some other things on his tablet, just watching from the corner of his eye how easily enraged the other man had become by his comment. In the end, he decided that this wouldn’t really get him anywhere and looked Tony over one more time, before walking to the door.

“I’m going to talk to Mrs. Potts and Mr. Hogan about the therapy offers I mentioned. If you aren’t willing to do this for yourself, maybe you will consider doing it for them.”

He shuts the door behind him and walks towards the visitor’s area (or the cafeteria, where Happy was normally found) and part of him really wishes someone would get him off this case— but he had sworn and oath and even if the guy was a complete asshole, he was human too and unlucky for Stephen, he also needed saving.

 

[*]

 

The next time he enters that room again, it _stinks_. It’s not as if Stephen was unused to the stench of illnesses and all their symptoms, but this was a different kind of smell— more reminiscent of a bar, heavy with alcohol and smoke and Tony doesn’t even look the least bit guilty when he turns his head with a cigarette hanging from his lips. He’s still attached to the IV too and Stephen thinks he’s going to lose his hair this early in his life just because of this one man.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Normally, he’s good at keeping his temper in check (especially around patients), but there was a certain level of absurdity that he couldn’t tolerate and even less so during an all-night shift. He’s across the room in less than two seconds and rips the cigarette from the other man’s mouth and throws it out of the window with a long swing, breathing heavily and even just judging by the other’s lack of reaction, he can tell that he’s intoxicated (and can smell it a second later, too).

“The audacity you have… Do you _want_ me to strap you to this bed?”

Tony just yawns and looks past him at the streets of New York below them, cars beeping and sirens blaring and Stephen is sure he’s going to throw this man right down there to them, hero or not— he was really close to losing his last fuck.

“That’s a bit kinky, Doc... Didn’t take you to be that kind of guy.”

“You’re a nightmare.”

“... Just means that you’ve dreamt of me.”

The rage just evaporates into thin resignation, because this man was truly impossible and getting at the last of his nerves as a hobby, apparently. Tony seems to take his silence as defeat, because he finally sits back down on the edge of his bed and Stephen was almost virtually certain that he was as close to a burnout as a man could be, rubbing his eyes and trying to ignore how much his feet were hurting after how long he had stood today.

“Your lungs have been injured in your brawl, so don’t strain them any further by smoking out the window like a damn teenager. And your liver is already bad, but your previous doctor has already told you that.”

“You said yourself I don’t seem like the type to take advice, Doc.”

The hero coughs to himself and Stephen presses the ‘ _Told you so_ ’ to the roof of his mouth with his tongue instead, reaching over for his stethoscope and ushering Tony’s hands away to be able to listen properly. The other man just let him, seemingly too worn out to fight him and Stephen really just doesn’t want this man’s lung to break on him— even if just because of the glorious salary.

“Yes, but I also won’t let you relapse on my watch.”

There’s a shiver that runs through the hero’s body at that comment, even if Stephen only weakly catches it with his fingertips on the other’s shoulder. The window has been open for a long time too and so Stephen decides to close that first before lightly grabbing onto Tony’s arm to try and help him lay back down, but Tony pulls out of his grip at lightning speed, giving him that wide-eyed, driven animal look again. The doctor sighs and rubs his temples again for what feels like the hundredth time today.

“… You _do_ know that this kind of reaction is typical for victims of domestic abuse, right?”

“And do _you_ know that I pay you to meddle with my body and not my private affairs, huh?”

“I’m serious and under oath. Everything you tell me is confidential... Even while you're intoxicated.”

Tony gives him a look— the look of a very, very tired man. Stephen sighs and spreads the thin bedsheet over his patient again, because he’s come across a lot of hard cases to crack, but Tony Stark truly was one of a kind. Luckily, if medical school taught him one thing, it was _perseverance_.

“It’s not what you wish to think. There is no domestic abuse, no one to even be domestically abused _by_ , so leave me alone with your phantasms.”

“Then why do you act like I am about to hit you every time I even raise my hand?”

“… Reflex. You know, like necessary for _survival_ on the battlefield and all that? Not that you would know anything about that, so don’t try to lecture me about what you don’t understand.”

That was a fact that Stephen could not lie, but he still did have his fair share of psychological knowledge, which told him that there was more to this than what the other man played it off as. So he just stares at the hero, now sunk back in his bed and the doctor is quick to also take the bottle of gin that was very poorly hidden behind a vase and takes it outside to the trash. When he comes back, Tony was still looking out of the window.

That’s also the moment Stephen notices that he truly has nothing better to do, so maybe he deserves this punishment in the form of Tony Stark for that. His pager had been silent for almost an hour and he had his last coffee only thirty minutes ago, so sleep wasn’t an option for him right now either. Though if Tony truly wanted sleep (which wouldn’t be a surprise after all his consumption of alcohol and cigarettes), Stephen would do him the favor.

“... But _trust_ is also something you need on the battlefield. Once that’s broken, it won’t ever be the same… ‘Could’ve killed me…”

It was more slurred now, maybe because the other man is sinking down even more into his giant pillow and seems to be overtaken by sleep not soon after. Stephen spends another few minutes staring at the hero motionlessly, trying to piece together how this information revealed an answer to his questions— and to him, it was _very_ obvious _very quickly_ that Tony Stark had been betrayed by his teammate on the battlefield and if Tony’s mumbling during the last few days was anything to go by, it was not outlandish to assume that that teammate was Captain America.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so all in all, not too much new stuff, but tony is clearly shaken and stephen is intent on getting tony to tell him everything...... perhaps that's the next chapter, but just let it be known that they're slowly getting into each other's hair and stephen is already Tired djhfkjdhfk but YEAH comments are love, comments are life so thank you already for your support and i'll see you as soon as i get out of my exams!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello once again....... i know it's been a while, but i've been in a bit of a creative low + exams have been kicking my ass, but i managed to gather this (admittedly small) chapter for you! thank you Rosa312 for your nice comment, it helped me gather a bit of inspo for this one! it's not long, but adresses some important things, so i hope you will enjoy it anyways! (and kudos and comments are love, as always esp in these trying times jhdkjfhdk)

Stephen had a pretty active life (even if just because he spent over ninety percent of his day in the hospital normally), but his private life was filled with action, yet void of emotions. He didn’t mind that, but seeing intense emotion rush through someone else really unraveled an unreasonable desire to feel… _more_ , he found. To see Tony Stark (of all people) be filled with so much emotion, contrary to the carefree playboy persona the media usually puts him out as really hit differently once you saw it in action. Stephen had saved many lives and seen many pits of humanity’s nature, but it was always unspeakably raw, like an open surgery— so being given _less_ did never sit right with him anymore.

“You know, I figured out by now who this is about. And I can imagine what happened.”

“That’s just great. Gold star for you, Doc.”

He has also always been told that he was an asshole with dry humor, but this man was really taking the cake on that one. He didn’t even need to play psychologist here, the only reason he was still so busy here was because he was getting paid a lot for this (maybe not _this_ necessarily, but a man had to pass his time somehow).

“So is America’s Sweetheart considered an outlaw now?”

Riling this man up didn’t seem like a good idea, but Stephen was never known for his politeness, especially towards people that seem even more arrogant than he himself was. But that seems to rub Tony the wrong way, because it makes him rip his eyes open again in sheer scorn.

“Don’t make me laugh. The sweetest thing about him is his reputation and _maybe_ his apparent love for sentimentalism. Nothing else.”

That makes Stephen raise an eyebrow as he checks his pager for what feels like the tenth time in the past few minutes, really wondering why it was such a quiet night for once— but this might just become interesting. He leans forward to look over his patient’s face, suddenly turned away and Tony was looking out the window again, something he does a lot… Almost as if searching for something (or someone) at the horizon.

“Do tell. I’d be _terribly_ interested in personal gossip involving the icon of America.”

“I think you referred to it as ‘ _trauma_ ’ just the other day, Doc.”

“All technical terms. I’ll even get tea if it loosens your lips.”

Now the engineer was staring at him again with a raised eyebrow, seeming mildly amused by the innuendo and Stephen didn’t even notice that he had put his pager on the table besides him as he shook his shoulders in a silent attempt to make his offer harder to decline. Their eyes lingered on each other for a while, the millionaire’s fingers stroking his moustache in thought while Stephen rolled his eyes at the over-dramatic gesture.

“What about coffee?”

“Will you _stop_? The nurses have already informed you that caffeine is not on your diet until you are discharged. There is no discussing this.”

“Not even if it would ‘ _loosen my lips_ ’, as you put it so gracefully?”

“… Okay, what about decaffeinated coffee?”

 

[*]

 

So finding a compromise with Tony Stark was manageable after all, _what a surprise_. Stephen’s pager had beeped like crazy as soon as he stepped into the hallway, so his coffee date (as Nick began describing it fondly) would have to wait for a while. But even after he’s stitched up countless cuts from a car accident and helped overworked assistants that happened to be stationed in the ER that night, all that he’s left with is more adrenaline than to begin with and so he’s more than ready for some nice gossip as he finally gets the coffee from the hospital’s cafeteria.

“Since when do you take it decaffeinated?”

“It’s not for me, _obviously_.”

Christine smiles tiredly behind him in line with her own coffee ( _very_ caffeinated, of course) and Stephen can’t remember the last time he saw her any more awake than this— but she had joined Nick’s mission of bullying him for having to put up with Tony Stark all day, so he didn’t feel as guilty as he normally might have.

“It’s for Tony Stark. You know, the millionaire that pays me to sit in his room for most of my free time and making small talk. Sometimes not _even_ that.”

“Oh, shut it.”

She punches his shoulder lightly as Stephen decides to be generous for once (after all he’s getting paid a fortune for not really doing anything) and pays for her coffee as well, at which she simply smiles and thanks him with a nod before walking off towards cardiology. The neurosurgeon spends a few seconds staring after her before walking the other way to his star patient’s room again— he admittedly also wasn’t too surprised to find Tony very much still awake.

“That was one _long_ trip to the cafeteria.”

“A car crash happened. I hope you don’t mind that I prioritized human lives above your fake coffee.”

The other man just rolls his eyes and takes the coffee with a nod and Stephen guesses that’s as much of a thanks as he’s going to get, so he walks over to the chair near the bed and raises an eyebrow in anticipation. He was tired, but this was nothing new. Seeing Christine had reminded him of how truly tiring this job really is and he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had slept properly.

“… So?”

“So _what_?”

“I was promised some good gossip. I didn’t walk those extra miles to the cafeteria for nothing.”

The engineer makes a face as he tastes the coffee (and Stephen knows how _bad_ decaffeinated coffee tastes) so he allows himself a bit of an asshole-smile before Tony stares at him, with that ever-calculating gaze. This man had walls up (not that Stephen didn’t have any of his own), but at this point Stephen was getting tired of proving that he wasn’t a double-agent or something else out of a James Bond movie over and over again.

“I was about to say no, but then I remembered you are bound to professional discretion, so if you go to the press with this, I can at least sue your smart ass.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep it in the back of my mind.”

His response is dry, but apparently it’s all that Tony needs to be able to cut loose, now sitting up properly in bed and tugging his sheets to fit snugly around his torso before holding his cup like the oldest grandparent about to tell his grandchildren a story of his youth— Stephen rolls his eyes again, but decides to pay attention. Mostly because he really had nothing else to do (but also because a tiny part of him genuinely wanted to know what shook up a man like Tony Stark enough to turn him into a paranoid wreck like this).

 

[*]

 

Once Tony was done and looking pretty nonchalant (as ever), Stephen genuinely began to feel like this was a James Bond movie with the worst plot so far. But then again, only about three years ago, aliens had invaded New York City— so maybe this thing about supersoldiers and an underground network of Nazis (at least partially) running the government wasn’t the _most_ unlikely thing to exist.

“So, what’s your verdict?”

“… My verdict on _what_?”

“My toxic surroundings, obviously. _Duh_.”

Stephen just sighed and rubbed his eyes, watching as Tony managed to throw his now empty coffee cup into the nearest trashcan with deadly accuracy, yawning as he tried to gather his thoughts after all this madness while Tony just innocently batted his eyelashes at him.

“I only heard your part of the story… But if that’s anything to go by, I stand by my original opinion. Your taste in friends is obviously _lacking_.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll remember to write ‘ _Please state if you happen to have a thought-dead best friend that killed my parents_ ’ the next time I’m taking applications for the tea. Great fucking point.”

Stephen rolls his eyes again, this time because it’s obvious that the topic was touchy— not that he blamed Tony at all, because he’s pretty sure everyone would be sensitive about the topic of their parents’ death, _especially_ if it was a (double) murder. He gets up and walks to the side of Tony’s bed, seeing how the other man avoids his eye in what Stephen assumes to be a rare moment of vulnerability, which the neurosurgeon was pretty certain he should make full use of.

“… I can still recommend you a therapist, if you’d like.”

That makes the millionaire turn back to him ever so slowly, deep eyes searching for Stephen’s lighter ones and what appears to be a look of disbelief at first changes into a smirk pretty quickly (much to Stephen’s surprise) once he holds the other’s gaze.

“Nope, I think you’ll do just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so stephen managed to crack tony's shell open! finally! at least somewhat, but this wouldn't be tony if there was far more to it........ idk when i will skip to stephen as sorcerer supreme, but rest assured when i say it's coming ;) tell me in the comments what you think and hopefully i will see you soon with another chapter!


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